Editing Dmitri Shostakovich (section)

== Personality ==
Shostakovich was in many ways an obsessive man: according to his daughter he was "obsessed with cleanliness".{{sfnp|Ardov|2004|p=139}} He synchronised the clocks in his apartment and regularly sent himself cards to test how well the postal service was working. [[Elizabeth Wilson (cellist)|Elizabeth Wilson]]'s ''Shostakovich: A Life Remembered'' indexes 26 references to his nervousness. Mikhail Druskin remembers that even as a young man the composer was "fragile and nervously agile".{{sfnp|Wilson|1994|pp=41–45}} Yuri Lyubimov comments, "The fact that he was more vulnerable and receptive than other people was no doubt an important feature of his genius."{{sfnp|Wilson|1994|p=183}} In later life, [[Krzysztof Meyer]] recalled, "his face was a bag of tics and grimaces."{{sfnp|Wilson|1994|p=462}}

In Shostakovich's lighter moods, sport was one of his main recreations, although he preferred spectating or umpiring to participating (he was a qualified [[referee (association football)|football referee]]). His favorite football club was Zenit Leningrad (now [[FC Zenit Saint Petersburg|Zenit Saint Petersburg]]), which he would watch regularly.<ref>Mentioned in his personal correspondence {{harvtxt|Shostakovich|Glikman|2001}}, as well as other sources.</ref> He also enjoyed [[card game]]s, particularly [[Patience (game)|patience]].<ref name="Wilson2011">{{harvp|Wilson|2011}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=November 2019}}

Shostakovich was fond of satirical writers such as [[Nikolai Gogol|Gogol]], [[Anton Chekhov|Chekhov]] and [[Mikhail Zoshchenko]]. Zoshchenko's influence in particular is evident in his letters, which include wry parodies of Soviet [[officialese]]. Zoshchenko noted the contradictions in the composer's character: "he is ... frail, fragile, withdrawn, an infinitely direct, pure child ... [but also] hard, acid, extremely intelligent, strong perhaps, despotic and not altogether good-natured (although cerebrally good-natured)."<ref>Quoted in {{harvp|Fay|2000|p=121}}</ref>

Shostakovich was diffident by nature: Flora Litvinova has said he was "completely incapable of saying 'No' to anybody."{{sfnp|Wilson|1994|p=162}} This meant he was easily persuaded to sign official statements, including a denunciation of [[Andrei Sakharov]] in 1973.{{sfnp|Fay|2000|p=263}} His widow later told {{lang|fi|[[Helsingin Sanomat]]}} that his name was included without his permission.<ref>Vesa Sirén: "Mitä setämies sai sanoa Neuvostoliitossa?" in ''[[Helsingin Sanomat]]'', p. A6, 2 November 2018</ref> But he was willing to try to help constituents in his capacities as chairman of the Composers' Union and Deputy to the Supreme Soviet. [[Oleg Prokofiev]] said, "he tried to help so many people that&nbsp;... less and less attention was paid to his pleas."{{sfnp|Wilson|1994|p=40}}{{sfnp|Fay|2000|p=263}} When asked if he believed in God, Shostakovich said "No, and I am very sorry about it."{{sfnp|Fay|2000|p=263}}